The world of Bomb Queen gets both larger and smaller at the same time as this new arc, set 100 years in the future, continues. Bomb Queen's complicated plans have placed her in the Singularity, a kind of virtual reality world, to try to outlast all the superheroes who made her living hell of New Port City into, well, a living hell for her. But Bomb Queen discovers, to her chagrin, that in this distant future, the world is controlled by a virtual superhero, Shadowhawk, who can take over peoples' bodies and temporarily make them heroes.
Faced with a world like that, what is a Queen to do? Falling back on her instincts, Bomb Queen's plan is to recreate New Port City and overwhelm the Shadowhawks that rise up. Can she triumph? And can she possibly be stopped?
There are a lot of clever themes going on in this issue, especially the idea of Shadowhawk as a kind of religious figure that is able to infuse the body of any of his followers with super-powers and amazing abilities. It's an interesting idea, and one that I don't think I've ever seen in comics before. The closest I can think of is Matt Wagner's Grendel, which has the Grendel force as a kind of universal force of evil that exists as a spirit that infects people with its evil.
It seems logical to extrapolate that a figure like Shadowhawk would become a deity of sorts, existing as a force that literally places its divine justice into its followers. And if Shadowhawk is actually taking over peoples' bodies, how much more real does it seem to worship a figure like that than it does to worship a deity whom you have to trust on faith? As Pastor Jay says, "Others claim to have a supreme being who watches over them, but we have a real hero watching us now."
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The following image was NSFW enough that I put Godzillas over Bomb Queen's various exposed ladyparts. To see boobs and vag-cleavage, click on the thumbnail, but don't come crying to us if you get fired.)
But we're also told that Pastor Jay is dangerous, that he's larcenous and cruel, owns major corporations and that he's cut people off from the Singularity — basically a three-dimension, immersive sort of Internet. Just like everything else in Bomb Queen, the nominal hero is more dangerous than he seems to be at first glance.
Of course, just because there's so much interesting and thoughtful material in this issue, that doesn't mean we don't get a lot of action as well. The climactic battle between Bomb Queen and Detective Nieves possessed by the spirit of Shadowhawk is exciting and unpredictable. As Bomb Queen says, he is "at last a rival who can match me."
I always enjoy Bomb Queen because Jimmie Robinson is so good at mixing complicated issues with some kick-ass sex and violence. This issue is fun both for the brain and the heart.
Jason Sacks has been obsessed with comics for longer than he'd like to remember. He considers himself a student of comics history and loves delving into obscure corners of this crazy artform. Jason has been writing for this site for about seven years and has also been published in a number of fan publications, including the late, lamented Amazing Heroes and The Flash Companion. He lives in north Seattle with his wife and three kids.